Protea witzenbergiana E.Phillips

A sprawling to completely prostrate shrub, usually forming dense mats up to 3 m in diam., 150-500 mm in height, with a single main stem from which radiate numerous horizontally spreading branches. Stems 2-4 mm in diam., sparsely puberulous initially, soon becoming glabrous. Leaves secund to subsecund, acicular, 15-55 mm long> 1-2 mm wide, sparsely pilose initially, later glabrescent to glabrous, glaucous, upper surface canaliculate, apices tipped with a sharp, back-wardly deflected spine. Inflorescence strongly cernuous to cygneous, globose in bud but becoming shallowly crateriform on opening, 40-70 mm in diam. Involucral receptacle sharply conic-acute, 10-12 mm wide, 10-12 mm high. Involucral bracts 4-5 seriate, glabrous except for minutely ciliate margins; outermost series prolonged into 5-30 mm long acicular foliaceous appendages; outer series ovate-acute, 8-10 mm wide, 8-10 mm long, tightly imbricate, margins ciliate; inner series oblong-incurved, 20-30 mm long, 8-15 mm wide, apices rounded, concave and incurved. Perianth 20-22 mm long, strongly adaxially arcuate; tube region 8 mm long, glabrous; claws deflected adaxially, glabrous but tawny-setose distally on inner surface; limbs 6 mm long, linear-acute, tawny-setose proximally, otherwise glabrous. Style 25-30 mm long, strongly adaxially arcuate, ancipitous and broadened proximally, terete and tapering distally. Ovary obconic 3 mm long, covered by 10 mm long, straight tawny trichomes. Hypogynous scales ovate acute, 1 mm long. Flowering takes place during autumn and early winter. At lower milder sites open flowerheads are sometimes found as early as late March, but the peak of the season is from mid-April until the end of May. However, in high cold situations flowering may persist into June.